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MAPS 


SELECTED  TO  REPRESENT 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MAP-MAKING  FROM  THE 
FIRST  TO  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 

BY 

EDWARD  LUTHER  STEVENSON,  PH.D. 


MAPS 


REPRODUCED  AS  GLASS  TRANSPARENCIES 


SELECTED  TO  REPRESENT 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MAP-MAKING  FROM  THE 
FIRST  TO  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


BY 


EDWARD  LUTHER  STEVENSON,  PH.D. 


UCLA  MAP  LIBRAR 


RECEIVED;     ^  AU3  1957 
10721 

FILE  LETTER  AND  NUMSEK 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
THE  AMERICAN  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY 


THE  TROW  PRESS 
NEW  YOKK 


Map 
Library 

GA 
10 1 

FOREWORD 

IN  this  exhibit  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  illustrate 
the  development  of  map-making,  and  the  expansion  of 
geographical  knowledge  as  cartographically  represented, 
from  Eoman  days  to  modern  times.  The  forty-one  maps 
selected  are  typical.  The  fact,  however,  is  recognized 
that  in  so  limited  a  number  of  reproductions  many  of 
the  details  and  peculiarities,  which  are  characteristic  of 
the  maps  drawn  during  this  long  period,  do  not  appear. 

These  transparencies,  on  glass  plates  about  44  by  56 
cm.  in  size,  have  been  placed  in  the  lecture  hall  windows 
of  The  American  Geographical  Society's  Building,  156th 
Street  and  Broadway.  Although  they  vary  somewhat  in 
their  dimensions  they  are  as  nearly  uniform  as  the  pe- 
culiarities of  the  original  maps  permit.  Except  in  few 
instances,  where  convenience  in  arrangement  of  the  re- 
production has  directed,  the  order  of  the  numbers  is 
chronological. 

The  numerous  maps  in  fac-simile  which  are  framed  and 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  building  exhibit  certain  features 
not  to  be  found  in  the  transparencies,  and  furnish  addi- 
tional cartographical  information. 

E.  L.  S. 

FEBRUARY  22,  1913. 


1.— PEUTIISTGER  TABLE,  Early  Eoman  Map. 

This  map  derives  its  name  from  Konrad  Peutinger, 
a  distinguished  German  humanist  of  the  Renaissance 
period,  who  was  its  possessor  at  the  time  it  first  attracted 
attention,  1507.  It  appears  to  be  a  copy,  made  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  of  an  old  Roman  original  since  lost, 
and  is  treasured  not  only  by  the  Royal  Library  of  Vienna, 
where  it  may  now  be  found,  but  by  all  interested  in  the 
history  of  geographical  science,  as  the  choicest  carto- 
graphical monument  of  antiquity. 

It  is  properly  designated  an  itinerary  or  road  map, 
called  by  the  Romans  ITINERARIA  PICT  A,  and  lays 
down  the  world  as  then  conceived  by  one  who  would 
have  his  map  serve  an  especially  practical  purpose.  He 
has  indicated  the  Roman  highways,  and  has  represented 
the  towns  through  which  one  would  pass  in  going  from 
one  locality  to  another  in  the  Empire,  regardless  of 
strict  accuracy  as  to  distance  and  direction.  The  eleven 
segments  of  this  map,  altogether  more  than  eighteen 
feet  in  length  and  slightly  more  than  one  foot  in  width, 
embrace  the  region  stretching  from  Spain  to  India. 
The  sections  here  reproduced  include,  first,  the  larger 
part  of  Italy,  wherein  the  importance  of  Rome  as  an  im- 
perial residence  is  emphasized  by  a  special  vignette ;  and 
second,  the  region  to  the  east,  wherein  Constantinople 
appears  as  the  most  important  imperial  city.  Though 

5 


not  drawn  with  accurate  proportions,  the  peculiar  shape 
of  Italy,  for  example,  is  easily  recognized. 

2.— WOULD  MAP  OF  COSMAS,  Sixth  Century. 

The  world  map  of  Cosmas  was  drawn  to  illustrate  the 
geographical  theories  set  forth  by  Cosmas  Indicopleustes 
in  his  work  designated  "  Christian  Topography."  The 
author,  a  monk,  was  probably  a  native  of  Alexandria 
and  lived  in  the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  Era.  It 
is  generally  accepted  that  his  "Topography"  contains 
the  oldest  Christian  maps  which  have  survived.  They 
therefore  stand  as  representative  of  the  earliest  efforts 
of  mediaeval  cartographers  to  picture  in  outline  the 
earth's  surface. 

Cosmas  rejects  the  geographical  ideas  of  the  ancients, 
finding  in  the  Scriptures  a  basis  for  his  theories.  Accord- 
ing to  him  the  Bible  should  be  accepted  no  less  as  a  guide 
in  science  than  as  a  guide  to  faith.  The  tabernacle,  he 
thought,  should  be  taken  as  a  model  of  the  earth,  of  the 
firmament,  and  of  the  heavens  above,  the  earth  occupy- 
ing the  floor  of  the  universe.  "  Thou  shalt  also  make  a 
table ;  two  cubits  shall  be  the  length  thereof,  and  a  cubit 
the  breadth  thereof  .  .  ."  Ex.  xxxvii,  10,  was  for  him, 
a  justification  in  representing  the  length  of  the  earth  as 
twice  its  breadth.  A  rectangular  earth  seems  to  have 
been  justified  by  the  statement,  "I  saw  four  angels 
standing  on  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  holding 
the  four  winds  of  the  earth,"  Eev.  vii,  1.  Beyond 
the  encircling  ocean  Cosmas  placed  the  earthly  para- 
dise whence  flow  the  four  sacred  rivers,  their  source 
being  hidden  from  man,  but  their  waters  reaching  the 
earth  by  flowing  beneath  the  encircling  ocean.  All  this 

6 


we  find  laid  down  in  his  world  map.  He  represents  four 
indenting  gulfs,  at  the  south  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  at  the  north  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  at  the 
west  the  Mediterranean,  in  accord  with  a  belief  of  the 
time. 

3.— WORLD  MAP  OF  BEATUS,  Eighth  Century. 

In  the  mountainous  region  of  Liehana,  once  a  part  of 
Asturias,  lived  toward  the  close  of  the  eighth  century  a 
Benedictine  monk  known  in  his  time  and  to  history  as 
Beatus.  As  the  teacher  and  spiritual  guide  of  Queen 
Adosinda,  he  must  have  enjoyed  special  and  rare  privi- 
leges for  the  pursuit  of  his  studies,  since  the  royal  resi- 
dence was  not  far  from  the  famous  Monastery  of  Astorga, 
a  home  of  the  highest  culture  and  learning  of  the  time. 
Here  he  wrote  his  great  work  called  "A  Commentary 
on  the  Apocalypse."  This  work,  existing  to-day  in  many 
manuscript  copies,  is  considered  especially  interest- 
ing by  reason  of  its  numerous  miniatures  in  West  Gothic 
and  Byzantine  Gothic  style,  among  which  may  be  found 
a  world  map.  The  map  appears  to  have  been  inserted 
in  the  work  principally  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating 
the  spread  of  Christianity  over  the  earth.  Like  most 
mediaeval  maps,  it  is  oriented  with  the  east  at  the  top. 
Here  in  the  earth's  remotest  bounds  the  earthly  para- 
dise almost  invariably  may  be  found  sketched,  and  the 
story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  often  is  simply  represented 
in  picture.  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  or  Lybia  appear, 
and  also  what  is  common  to  the  Beatus  maps,  the  region 
of  the  antipodal  peoples,  that  is,  those  who  live  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  earth  to  us. 

In  this  particular  map  Beatus  has  represented  the 

7 


Twelve  Apostles,  placing  each  in  that  region  to  which 
church  history  and  tradition  assigned  him.  Rivers  cross 
the  map,  most  of  which  can  be  identified,  though  inac- 
curately drawn.  Important  cities  are  distinguished  by 
the  rough  outline  of  a  building.  In  every  detail  accu- 
racy is  wanting,  but  strict  geographical  accuracy  was 
not  then  held  to  be  important. 

4.— ST.     SEVER    WORLD     MAP     OF    BEATUS, 

Eleventh  Century. 

This  map,  about  46  by  72  cm.  in  size,  appears  to  have 
been  derived,  though  not  in  all  its  features,  from  the 
original  Beatus  world  map  of  the  eighth  century.  It  is 
the  most  important  of  the  ten  known  derivatives,  and 
appears  to  have  been  drawn  at  the  Monastery  of  St.  Sever 
near  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century.  The  map  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Bibliotheque  Rationale  of 
Paris.  In  its  details  it  far  surpasses  the  Beatus  map 
referred  to  as  No.  3.  Though  omitting,  for  example, 
the  representation  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  it  is  filled  with 
picture  and  legend  showing  strikingly  the  survival  of 
many  earlier  pagan  beliefs,  and  the  influence  of  early 
mediaeval  geographical  notions  such  as  had  been  ad- 
vanced in  the  quasi-geographical  writings  of  Isidor, 
Orosius,  and  St.  Augustine. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  east  is  placed  at  the  top, 
where  is  sketched  an  elaborate  representation  of  the 
earthly  paradise.  Around  the  world  flows  the  encir- 
cling ocean,  especially  distinguished  as  water  by  its 
islands,  its  numerous  fishes,  and  its  crudely  drawn  boats. 
The  continents  and  numerous  localities  are  designated 
by  name;  important  cities  are  distinguished  by  picture, 

8 


I 

Vine 


llM'l'    v  ;ni-.-!- 


i  (  IK  His 

HI-   •l>HbllllKH>H'l> 


HEREFORD  WORLD  MAP,  1283.     No.  5. 


as  Rome,  Constantinople,  Antioch,  and  ST.  SEVEB  in 
Southwestern  France,  with  its  cross-adorned  church. 
Italy,  for  example,  is  entirely  wanting  its  peculiar  out- 
line, and  can  be  distinguished  only  through  its  name; 
the  Black  Sea  is  but  a  long  extended  arm  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  Fortunate  Islands  are  placed  west 
of  Africa.  The  map  admirably  reflects  the  attitude  of 
the  time  towards  geographical  science  in  Christian 
Europe. 

5.— HEREFORD  WORLD  MAP,  1283. 

In  the  Cathedral  of  Hereford,  England,  hangs  this 
remarkable  map,  the  work  of  Richard  of  Haldingham 
and  Lafford,  says  a  legend  written  thereon.  It  is  about 
five  feet  in  diameter,  drawn  in  colors  on  parchment  of 
fine  quality,  and  dates  from  the  latter  part  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  The  east  is  at  the  top,  which  is  crowned 
with  an  elaborate  representation  of  the  Judgment  Day. 
At  the  four  corners  are  the  four  letters  spelling  the 
mournfully  suggestive  word,  M  0  R  S,  Death.  At  first 
view,  all  appears  confusion  in  the  map  itself,  crowded 
as  is  this  veritable  circle  of  the  earth  with  picture  and 
with  legend.  In  the  center  is  Jerusalem,  doubtless  given 
this  important  place  in  his  system  by  the  author  to 
accord  with  the  scriptural  statement,  "This  is  Jerusa- 
lem :  I  have  set  it  in  the  midst  of  the  nations  and  coun- 
tries round  about  her."  Islands  are  represented  in  the 
encircling  ocean,  conspicuously  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. The  marvelous  races  described  in  fable  and  story 
find  a  place  in  the  far-away  or  border  regions  of  the 
earth. 

One  may  obtain  a  far  more  intelligible  understand- 

9 


ing  of  many  of  the  mediaeval  geographical  myths  and 
fables,  as,  for  example,  of  the  Alexander  legends,  or 
of  many  a  story  of  the  classical  day,  from  a  study  of 
this  map  than  from  the  best  made  modern  map.  The 
Barns  of  Joseph  (Pyramids),  the  Ark  of  Noah,  the 
principal  mountains,  rivers,  great  gulfs  and  seas  are  rep- 
resented, but  have  been  curiously  conceived  and  drawn. 

6.— EBSTORF  WORLD  MAP,  1283. 

In  the  year  1833,  dust-covered  and  cast  aside  with 
other  material  as  of  little  value,  this  old  parchment  map 
was  found  in  the  Benedictine  convent  of  Ebstorf,  Ger- 
many. It  is  one  of  the  largest  mediaeval  world  maps 
known,  being  more  than  eleven  feet  in  diameter,  one  of 
the  richest  in  geographical  details,  and  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  in  colors.  In  a  sense  it  appears  to  sum  up  the 
unscientific  or  quasi-scientific  geographical  knowledge  of 
the  Christian  middle  ages,  resembling  in  this  respect  the 
Hereford  Map  of  England,  here  appearing  as  No.  5.  It 
is  oriented  with  the  east  at  the  top,  where,  near  the  rep- 
resentation of  the  earthly  paradise,  is  an  elaborately 
drawn  head  of  Christ.  The  idea  of  representing  the 
world  as  the  body  of  Christ  is  carried  out  by  placing  at 
the  right  and  the  left  the  hands,  and  at  the  bottom  the 
feet.  Jerusalem  is  at  the  center,  and  many  of  the  larger 
as  well  as  the  smaller  geographical  divisions  of  the  earth 
are  indicated  by  name.  Cities  and  towns  are  brilliantly 
represented  in  picture ;  the  encircling  ocean,  the  indent- 
ing seas  and  gulfs,  and  the  principal  rivers  appear,  but 
with  the  usual  inaccuracies.  The  marvelous  races  have 
also  their  place  in  regions  remote,  as  have  many  other 
traditions  handed  down  from  the  days  of  Pliny,  Solinus, 

10 


and  the  early  Christian  writers  on  geography.  The  map 
cannot  be  taken  as  one  marking  the  beginning  of  a  new, 
but  rather  as  one  marking  the  climax  and  conclusion  of 
an  old,  era. 

7.— CATALAN  WORLD  MAP,  1375. 

Second  only  to  the  Italians  in  the  maritime  enterprises 
with  which  the  middle  ages  closed  and  a  new  era  began 
were  the  Catalonians  of  eastern  Spain  and  of  the  neigh- 
boring Mediterranean  islands.  To  Cresquez  lo  Juheu  of 
Catalonia  this  world  map  is  attributed.  It  appears  to 
have  been  drawn  for  King  Charles  V  of  France,  and  may 
well  be  called  epoch-making  in  its  importance.  More 
comprehensive  than  any  of  earlier  date,  it  represents  the 
results  which  had  been  achieved  by  the  great  overland 
travelers,  including  in  particular  much  of  the  geograph- 
ical knowledge  brought  back  from  the  far  East  by  Marco 
Polo.  It  gives  to  India  a  more  nearly  correct  shape  than 
may  be  found  on  any  other  map  of  the  century.  Its 
representation  of  the  Atlantic  islands,  including  the 
Azores,  the  Canaries,  and  the  Madeira  group,  is  un- 
equaled  by  any  of  previous  date.  The  expedition  of 
Jayme  Ferrer  of  the  year  1346  down  the  west  coast  of 
Africa  is  given  a  detailed  reference.  This  expedition 
marked  a  new  terminus  for  discovery  to  the  southward. 

The  map-maker  filled  his  map  with  picture  and  legend 
after  the  mediaeval  style,  quoting  much,  as  stated  above, 
from  Marco  Polo's  narrative,  and  recording  in  particular 
the  information  brought  back  by  traders  who  passed 
along  the  northern  overland  route  into  north  central 
Asia. 

11 


8.— PIZIGANI  MAP,  1367. 

The  Venetian  brothers  Francisco  and  Dominico  Pizi- 
gani  supplied  the  geographical  information  for  the  con- 
struction of  this  map  which  bears  their  name,  and  the 
date  1367.  The  original,  belonging  to  the  Library  of 
Parma,  is  about  138  by  92  cm.  in  size,  and  is  remark- 
ably well  preserved.  It  exhibits  certain  features  of  the 
portolan  or  sailor's  charts,  being  crossed  by  numerous 
direction  lines  and  containing  many  coast  names.  The 
geographical  information,  however,  is  not  confined  to 
the  coast  regions.  Like  the  Catalan  Map,  No.  7,  of 
almost  equal  date,  it  contains  many  legends  descriptive  of 
the  localities  in  which  they  have  been  placed.  The  cities 
especially  distinguished  by  the  picture  of  a  building  are 
very  numerous,  the  great  majority  of  which  are  in  the 
interior  continental  regions.  The  eight  principal  winds 
or  directions  are  indicated  by  artistically  drawn  heads. 
For  so  early  a  date  the  Scandinavian  or  North-land 
region  is  remarkably  well  represented.  The  entire  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  with  the  borderlands  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  Black  Sea,  cannot  fail  to  attract  by  rea- 
son of  their  near  approach  to  accuracy. 

Compare,  for  example,  the  Pizigani  with  the  Here- 
ford World  Map,  No.  5,  and  the  Catalan,  No.  7. 

9.— POETOLAN  CHAET  OF  EOSELLI,  1468. 

Portolan  charts  are  the  first  modern  scientific  maps. 
They  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the  mediaeval  cloister 
maps,  such  as  the  St.  Sever,  No.  4,  or  the  Hereford, 
No.  5.  They  appear  to  date  from  the  earliest  period  of 
our  great  modern  maritime  explorations,  that  is,  from 
about  1300. 

12 


This  chart  by  Petrus  Eoselli,  dating  from  1468,  has 
been  selected  as  a  good  representative  of  the  type.  It 
may  be  stated  that  the  earliest  examples  presented  in 
particular  the  Mediterranean  coasts,  but  as  the  years 
passed  more  distant  coast  regions  were  included.  Pri- 
marily these  charts  were  for  the  use  of  seamen,  hence 
the  geographical  nomenclature  was  confined  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  coasts,  that  is,  to  harbors  and  ports,  hence 
the  name  Port  or  Portolan  chart.  They  were  crossed 
with  numerous  lines  called  compass  or  direction  lines, 
radiating  from  centers  systematically  placed,  which  cen- 
ters were  often  highly  ornamented  with  compass  or 
wind  roses.  Charts  such  as  these  served  the  early  sea- 
men of  the  Mediterranean,  the  early  navigators  along 
the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa,  and  Columbus 
himself  with  his  companions  and  his  contemporaries  in 
their  great  enterprises.  It  was  on  the  enlarged  portolan 
charts  that  the  new  discoveries  were  first  recorded,  as, 
for  example,  on  the  Cantino  Chart,  No.  20,  or  the  chart 
of  Canerio,  No.  42. 

10.— CATALAN  WORLD  MAP,  about  1450. 

One  of  the  treasures  to  be  found  in  the  Royal  Estense 
Library  of  Modena,  Italy,  is  this  fine  example  of  a  cir- 
cular Catalan  world  map.  Among  the  seafaring  Cata- 
lonians  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  there 
appears  to  have  been  developed  a  remarkable  skill  in 
chart  making,  first  as  applied  to  the  construction  of 
portolan  charts  of  limited  coast  regions,  then  to  the  con- 
struction on  the  same  scientific  principles  of  world  charts. 
This  chart,  which  in  the  original  is  about  125  cm.  in 
diameter,  gives  the  entire  world  as  then  known,  with 

13 


the  regions  remote  from  Mediterranean  Europe  con- 
siderably distorted.  It  is  the  work  of  a  skillful  draughts- 
man, who,  like  his  contemporaries,  undertook  to  tell  a 
geographical  story  through  picture  and  legend,  as  well 
as  to  record  the  simple  known  geographical  facts  which 
might  be  of  special  value  to  navigators.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  along  the  coast  lines  the  names  of  towns, 
harbors,  and  ports  are  particularly  numerous.  Africa 
has  a  peculiar  shape,  but  gives  evidence  of  a  knowledge, 
though  not  accurate,  of  the  trend  of  the  coast  in  the 
region  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  The  islands  are  numerous 
which  dot  the  Indian  Ocean,  a  representation  which  was 
derived  from  the  narrative  of  Marco  Polo.  Jerusalem 
is  no  longer  regarded  as  the  center  of  the  world  as  in  the 
day  when  Haldingham  constructed  the  Hereford  Map, 
No.  5.  The  importance  of  China  and  the  Far  East  is 
noted  in  legends  which  are  inscribed  in  the  interior. 

11.— VENETIAN  MILITAEY  MAP,  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury. 

This  somewhat  peculiar  though  interesting  attempt  to 
present  a  bird's-eye  view  of  a  section  of  northeastern 
Italy  seems  to  date  from  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  Cities,  rivers,  and  highways  are  laid  down  not 
with  strict  accuracy,  but  in  a  manner  which  made  it  a 
fairly  serviceable  military  map,  which  it  was  intended 
to  be.  It  doubtless  was  constructed  in  Venice,  and  was 
intended  by  its  author  to  serve  the  useful  purpose  of 
guiding  the  Venetian  armies  in  their  conquests  on  the 
mainland.  The  important  cities  of  the  region  are  dis- 
tinctly designated  by  name,  and  are  given  special  promi- 

14 


nence  by  means  of  picture.  In  the  list  of  cities  are  to 
be  found  Milan,  Pavia,  Como,  Lodi,  Cremona,  with  nu- 
merous others  of  greater  or  less  importance. 

12a.— MELA  WOELD  MAP,  Fifteenth  Century. 

In  a  manuscript  copy  of  a  geographical  work  written 
by  Pomponius  Mela  in  the  first  century  A.D.,  presented 
by  Cardinal  Guillaume  Pilaster  in  1417  to  the  Library 
of  Rheims,  is  this  beautifully  executed  initial  letter  0 
of  the  word  "  Orbis,"  which  with  some  appropriateness 
is  made  to  contain  a  map  of  the  world.  Like  the  St. 
Denis  map,  its  companion  in  this  transparency,  it  is 
rather  decorative  than  scientific.  "The  four  angels 
standing  at  the  four  corners  of  the  earth"  are  repre- 
sented in  mediaeval  fashion.  The  continents  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa  are  designated,  each  containing  a  few 
local  geographical  names,  as  of  rivers,  mountains,  and 
political  divisions.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  Abys- 
sinia is  called  the  India  of  Presbyter  John. 

12&.— ST.  DENIS  WORLD  MAP,  Fifteenth  Century. 

The  Chronicle  of  St.  Denis  preserved  in  the  Sainte- 
Genevieve  Library  of  Paris  contains  this  circular  map 
of  the  world,  so  drawn  as  to  warrant  its  classification 
with  those  maps  which  are  strikingly  decorative  in  char- 
acter. It  appears  to  date  from  the  last  quarter  of  the 
fourteenth  century  and  exhibits  in  a  very  general  and 
very  imperfect  manner  the  geographical  views  of  the 
period.  The  three  continents  are  indicated,  around 
which  flows  the  encircling  ocean.  Very  conspicuous 
buildings  emphasize  the  importance  of  certain  cities,  as 

15 


Paris,  Rome,  Antioch,  Jerusalem,  Carthage,  Alexandria. 
Without  the  large  circle  have  been  sketched  twelve 
small  half  circles  in  which  are  the  names  of  the  winds 
by  which  direction  was  commonly  indicated  before  the 
general  use  of  the  compass. 

13.— GENOESE  WORLD  MAP,  1457. 

This  map,  having  the  unusual  oblong  shape,  being 
42  by  81  cm.  in  size,  represents  the  habitable  world  with 
its  longitude  practically  twice  its  latitude.  Its  author, 
who  undoubtedly  was  a  Genoese,  does  not  record  his 
name,  but  gives  1457  as  the  date  when  his  work  was 
executed. 

The  map  belongs  to  a  period  of  transition,  exhibiting 
an  attempt  to  harmonize  the  ancient  and  medieval  geo- 
graphical ideas  with  recent  geographical  discoveries.  It 
is  a  less  pretentious  map  than  is  that  of  Fra  Mauro, 
though  not  second  to  it  in  scientific  importance,  attract- 
ing at  first  by  reason  of  its  numerous  legends,  its  archi- 
tectural subjects,  its  crowned  kings,  and  its  marvelous 
animals  of  land  and  sea.  The  continent  of  Europe  is 
well  drawn;  Asia  and  Africa  are  less  accurate,  though 
they  exhibit  a  marked  advance  in  geographical  knowl- 
edge over  that  recorded  in  previous  maps.  Much  of  the 
information  relative  to  the  distant  East  appears  to  have 
been  drawn  especially  from  the  Italian  traveler  Nicolo 
Conti  and  from  Marco  Polo.  The  author  gives  us  one  of 
the  earliest  representations  of  the  Chinese  Wall,  makes 
record  of  the  Chinese  junks  built  with  compartments  such 
as  may  now  be  found  in  the  best  ocean-going  vessels,  and 
adds  much  interesting  information  concerning  Cathay  or 

16 


China,  the  interior  of  both  Asia  and  Africa,  and  the 
navigation  of  the  Indian  Seas. 

14.— WORLD  MAP  OF  PEA  MAURO,  1459. 

In  the  Ducal  Palace  of  Venice  may  be  found  this  very 
remarkable  map  of  the  world  drawn  by  the  Camaldolese 
monk,  Fra  Mauro,  in  the  years  1457  to  1459. 

The  work  of  that  great  patron  of  maritime  explora- 
tion, Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  of  Portugal,  had  now 
been  almost  completed,  and  the  prime  purpose  for  the 
draughting  of  this  map  appears  to  have  been  to  sum  up 
that  work  and  to  give  it  permanent  record  in  a  great 
world  map,  which  map  should  also  exhibit  as  fully  as 
possible  the  complete  status  of  geographical  knowledge 
up  to  that  date.  The  original  has  a  diameter  of  more 
than  six  feet.  It  far  surpasses  in  the  gorgeousness  of 
its  execution  and  the  richness  of  its  details  any  world 
map  hitherto  constructed.  Many  of  the  peculiar  features 
to  be  found  in  the  work  of  mediaeval  map-makers  are  to 
be  found  in  the  work  of  this  monk  of  Murano,  but  it 
marks  so  great  an  advance,  incorporating  as  it  does  so 
many  of  the  scientific  features  of  the  portolan  charts, 
that  it  becomes  one  of  the  most  important  examples  of 
a  new  era  of  map  making. 

The  whole  proportion  of  things  recorded — rivers, 
mountains,  towns,  descriptive  legends — is,  however,  ex- 
aggerated, especially  in  the  regions  remote  from  south- 
ern Europe.  One  becomes  somewhat  bewildered  in 
attempting  to  make  the  map  serve  as  a  geographical 
guide.  The  peculiar  outline  of  the  continent  of  Africa 
and  of  Asia  is  in  part  due  to  the  circular  form  of  the 
map,  but  in  greater  part  to  imperfect  knowledge. 

17 


15.— PTOLEMY  WORLD  MAP,  1486. 

During  the  fifteenth  century,  and  by  many  during  the 
following  century,  Ptolemy  was  recognized  as  the  best 
authority  on  geography.  In  the  second  century  of  the 
Christian  era  he  had  prepared  his  great  work  on  Cos- 
mography, which  probably  was  accompanied  by  a  series 
of  maps,  since  he  gave  therein  specific  instruction  as  to 
the  best  manner  of  draughting  them.  During  the  middle 
ages  this  work  of  Ptolemy  suffered  an  eclipse,  but  in  the 
period  of  great  geographical  explorations  it  was  redis- 
covered and  he  became  anew  a  teacher  in  his  chosen 
field.  Ptolemy's  maps  were  first  printed  in  Italy  about 
1475.  The  Ulm  edition  of  1482  was  the  first  edition 
printed  in  Germany.  It  is  in  the  German  edition  of 
1486,  which,  like  the  preceding,  was  also  printed  in  Ulm, 
that  the  world  map  here  reproduced  may  be  found. 

According  to  Ptolemy's  idea  the  habitable  world  is 
about  seventy  degrees  in  width,  stretching  from  western 
Europe  to  the  extremes  of  Cathay.  Among  his  conspicu- 
ous errors  may  be  noted  the  connection  of  Africa  on  the 
south  with  eastern  Asia  by  an  unexplored  continent, 
thus  making  of  the  Indian  Ocean  an  enclosed  sea.  The 
Mediterranean  is  given  too  great  a  longitudinal  exten- 
sion, an  error  retained  in  most  maps  of  the  region  until 
the  seventeenth  century.  He  had  a  misconception  of  the 
shape  of  India,  of  Scotland,  and  of  the  distance  from 
the  Sea  of  Azov  to  the  Baltic,  as  of  many  other  geo- 
graphical details  of  which  we  now  have  accurate  knowl- 
edge. In  this  world  map  the  wind  heads  are  retained, 
that  is,  the  winds  or  direction  being  personified  as  with 
the  ancients. 

18 


16.— BEKGHAUS  WORLD  MAP,  1909. 

This  map  has  been  especially  selected  to  show,  by 
contrast  with  the  Ptolemy  World  Map,  the  earth's  sur- 
face as  now  known,  and  to  mark  the  advance  in  map 
drawing  and  map  printing  from  1486,  when  Ptolemy's 
map,  one  of  the  first  engraved  world  maps,  was  issued, 
up  to  the  present  time. 

17.— WORLD  MAP  OF  JUAN"  DE  LA  COSA,  1500. 

This  map,  the  work  of  a  companion  and  officer  of 
Columbus  on  his  first  trans-Atlantic  voyage,  is  the  oldest 
known  map  on  which  the  New  World  is  represented. 
An  inscription  on  the  left  tells  us  that  "Juan  de  la 
Cosa  made  it  at  the  Port  of  Santa  Maria  in  the  year 
1500."  The  original,  180  by  96  cm.  in  size,  now  pre- 
served in  the  Naval  Museum  at  Madrid,  was  found  by 
Baron  Walckenaer  in  the  year  1832  in  an  old  Paris  book- 
shop, and  was  later  purchased  by  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment for  4,020  francs.  The  author  drew  his  map  on 
parchment,  adding  to  it  the  rich  colors  found  in  mediaeval 
illustrated  manuscripts.  The  New  World  appears  on 
the  left,  not  accurately  drawn,  but  with  so  near  an 
approach  to  accuracy  as  to  enable  one  to  identify  numer- 
ous localities  represented  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  In  the 
extreme  north  of  this  Atlantic  coast  appears  the  legend, 
"  Mar  descubierta  por  Ingleses  "  (Sea  discovered  by  the 
English),  which  seems  to  point  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
Cabot  expedition  of  1497.  The  West  Indian  Islands  are 
conspicuous,  giving  evidence  of  a  fairly  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  island  of  Cuba.  The  map  does  not  show 
that  the  author  believed  the  newly  discovered  region  was 

19 


a  part  of  Asia;  quite  the  contrary,  though  he  was  un- 
certain of  the  extent  of  the  country. 

The  continent  of  Africa  is  remarkably  well  drawn, 
while  the  Far  East  gives  evidence  of  very  uncertain 
geographical  knowledge. 

The  map  exhibits  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
mediaeval  cloister  maps,  telling  in  picture,  for  example, 
of  the  Wise  Men  coming  out  of  the  East  guided  by  the 
Star,  and  of  Gog  and  Magog,  the  destructive  races  of 
northeast  Asia,  doubtless  meaning  thereby  the  Mongols 
or  Tartars.  It  well  represents  the  geographical  notions 
of  the  time. 

18.— MAKTIN  BEHAIM  GLOBE,  1492. 

In  the  very  year  in  which  Columbus  crossed  the  Atlan- 
tic on  his  first  voyage  of  discovery,  Martin  Behaim  in 
Niirnberg  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of  this  oldest 
known  terrestrial  globe.  The  author  had  passed  some 
years  in  Portugal,  perhaps  had  met  Columbus  and  talked 
over  with  him  the  problems  of  western  oceanic  explora- 
tion, and  may  have  influenced  him  with  his  geographical 
ideas.  The  globe  is  one  of  striking  interest  because  of 
its  date  and  because  of  its  summary  of  geographical 
knowledge  recorded  at  the  very  threshold  of  a  new  era. 
Behaim  tells  us  that  his  map  was  based  upon  Ptolemy, 
upon  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo  and  of  Sir  John  Mande- 
ville,  and  upon  the  explorations  carried  on  by  King  John 
of  Portugal.  It  has  a  diameter  of  about  20  cm.;  is 
drawn  on  parchment  which  has  been  mounted  on  a  pre- 
pared globe  shell,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  Behaim  Family  of  Niirnberg. 

That  half  of  the  globe  here  represented  includes  the 

20 


continent  of  Asia  with  the  bordering  oceans  to  the  east 
and  the  south.  The  principal  islands  of  these  oceans  are 
indicated  and  include  Cipangu  (Japan),  Java,  Zanzibar, 
Madagascar,  Taprobana,  each  of  which  is  described  in  an 
elaborate  legend,  as  the  several  regions  have  been  so 
described  where  space  has  permitted.  These  geographical 
records  are  among  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
globe. 

19.— MARTIN  BEHAIM  GLOBE,  1492. 

That  half  of  the  Behaim  globe  here  represented  in- 
cludes the  continents  of  Europe  and  Africa,  together 
with  the  great  expanse  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  embracing 
its  islands  which  were  then  known,  that  is,  the  Azores, 
the  Canaries,  the  Madeira  group,  and  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands.  The  New  World  very  naturally  does  not  appear 
on  the  globe.  The  author  has  much  underestimated  the 
distance  from  Portugal  to  China,  erroneously  represent- 
ing Japan  as  near  the  actual  longitude  of  Mexico.  The 
newly  discovered  Spanish  and  Portuguese  possessions,  in 
particular,  are  indicated  by  appropriate  banners.  The 
fabulous  islands  of  the  Atlantic  are  laid  down,  each 
with  a  legend  telling  the  commonly  accepted  story  con- 
cerning it,  among  which  islands  we  find  Saint  Brandans, 
Antillia,  and  the  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities.  Africa  is 
interestingly  drawn,  exhibiting  among  other  features  the 
last  vestige  of  that  extension  to  eastward,  at  its  southern 
extremity,  which  Ptolemy  made  to  reach  even  to  the  east 
coast  of  Asia. 


21 


20.— WORLD  MAP  OF  CANTINO,  1502. 

An  especial  distinction  belongs  to  the  Cantino  chart 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  contains  the  second  oldest 
known  attempt  to  sketch  the  New  World  which  has  come 
down  to  our  day.  The  original  is  a  planisphere  on 
parchment,  richly  colored,  measuring  220  by  100  cm., 
and  is  preserved  as  one  of  the  priceless  treasures  of  the 
Eoyal  Estense  Library  of  Modena,  Italy. 

Cantino  was  the  special  envoy  of  Hercules,  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  at  the  Court  of  Portugal,  and  as  such  he  was 
commissioned  to  obtain  for  the  Duke  a  map  especially 
illustrating,  to  date,  the  trans-Atlantic  discoveries  made 
under  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  flags.  We  learn  from 
a  letter  written  by  Cantino  that  the  chart  cost  in  Portu- 
gal by  contract  twelve  gold  ducats.  Crossed  by  numer- 
ous compass  or  direction  lines,  adorned  with  numerous 
compass  or  wind  roses,  with  its  geographical  nomencla- 
ture practically  confined  to  coast  regions,  it  is  readily 
distinguished  as  a  portolan  or  seaman's  chart,  such  as  is 
represented  in  No.  9,  but  a  portolan  chart  now  become 
a  world  chart.  The  Old  World  is  well  drawn,  in  par- 
ticular the  continent  of  Africa,  whose  coast  regions  had 
so  long  claimed  the  attention  of  the  Portuguese.  The 
newly  discovered  land  in  the  west  includes  Newfound- 
land or  the  Labrador  coast  claimed  for  Portugal  by 
reason  of  the  Cortereal  discoveries,  and  so  designated  by 
the  Portuguese  flag.  A  north  continental  region,  North 
America,  but  unnamed,  is  indicated  terminating  at  the 
south  in  a  point  of  land  which  unmistakably  is  a  repre- 
sentation of  Florida.  The  south  continental  region, 
South  America,  but  also  unnamed,  includes  a  section 
of  the  north  and  northeast  coast  of  South  America.  The 

22 


West  Indian  Islands,  notably  Isabella  or  Cuba,  and 
Haiti,  are  made  duly  prominent.  Cantino  adorned  his 
chart  with  picture  of  city  and  landscape,  giving  us 
in  South  America  one  of  the  first  attempts  to  illustrate 
the  attractiveness  of  American  fauna  and  flora. 

21.— MAP  OF  JOHANN  EUYSCH,  1508. 

In  1508  there  was  issued  from  a  Eome  printing  press 
an  edition  of  Ptolemy's  Geography  or  Cosmography,  con- 
taining a  new  map  of  the  world  bearing  the  title  "A 
more  universal  map  of  the  known  world  constructed  by 
means  of  recent  observations."  It  was  the  work  of  a 
certain  German,  Johann  Ruysch  by  name,  concerning 
whom  we  have  very  little  information.  The  map  attracts 
in  particular  by  reason  of  its  new  and  peculiar  projec- 
tion, in  which  the  North  Pole  appears  to  be  placed  at  the 
center,  giving  us  what  is  commonly  called  the  polar  pro- 
jection. Until  the  recent  discovery  of  the  Waldseemuller 
world  map  of  1507  it  passed  as  the  oldest  known  en- 
graved map  on  which  the  New  World  was  represented. 
Greenland  and  the  Newfoundland  region  discovered  by 
the  Cortereals  is  made  a  part  of  Asia.  But  little  of  the 
North  American  continent  is  represented,  while  South 
America  is  conspicuous,  bearing  the  name  "  Terra  Sanctse 
Crucis,"  given  to  it  by  Cabral  in  1500,  and  also  "  Mun- 
dus  novus,"  the  name  employed  by  Amerigo  Vespucci. 
Japan,  or  Cipangu,  as  represented  on  the  Behaim  Globe, 
No.  18,  is  omitted,  because,  as  the  author  states,  he 
thinks  the  newly  discovered  region  in  the  North,  that  is, 
North  America,  is  identical  therewith.  The  Old  World 
exhibits  in  a  general  way  the  progress  made  in  discovery 
to  date,  but  displays  many  of  the  features  of  Ptolemy's 

23 


maps.  This  reproduction  is  made  from  the  only  known 
manuscript  copy  of  the  map,  probably  drawn  as  early 
as  1512  by  Glareanus. 

22.— SYLVANUS  WORLD  MAP,  1511. 

This  cordiform  world  map  appears  in  an  edition  of 
Ptolemy  issued  at  Venice  in  1511  by  Bernardo  Sylvanus 
of  Eboli.  It  has  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  first 
maps  printed  with  color,  though  the  only  color  employed 
was  red,  and  this  alone  for  a  part  of  the  nomenclature. 
The  form  of  the  map  seems  to  exhibit  the  influence  of 
Waldseemiiller's  world  map  of  1507.  The  geographical 
data  for  the  New  World  appear  to  have  been  derived 
from  Portuguese  sources,  such  as  may  be  found  in  the 
charts  of  Cantino  and  Canerio.  The  Labrador  region 
is  called  "  regalis  domus,"  a  curious  and  confused  allu- 
sion to  the  Cortereal  discoveries.  South  America  is 
called  "terra  sanctse  crucis."  India  and  the  Far  East 
are  somewhat  Ptolemaic  in  outline.  Wind  heads  are 
numerous,  but  the  author  has  employed  in  most  instances 
double  names  to  designate  direction,  as  Zephyrus  and 
Occidens,  or  Boreas  and  Septentrio.  The  map  exhibits 
an  attempt  to  bring  Ptolemy's  cartographical  representa- 
tions up  to  date. 

23.— GLAREANUS  WORLD  MAP,  about  1512. 

Glareanus  was  one  of  those  many-sided  geniuses  of 
the  Renaissance,  being  philosopher,  man  of  letters,  his- 
torian, mathematician,  astronomer,  and  geographer.  In 
one  of  his  manuscripts,  until  recently  in  the  possession 
of  Colonel  E.  Renouard  James,  of  London,  may  be  found 
this  map  with  six  others,  which  map  is  here  reproduced 

24 


for  the  first  time.  It  represents  the  world,  somewhat 
roughly  drawn,  on  the  projection  employed  by  Waldsee- 
miiller  in  his  world  map  of  1507.  The  New  World  ap- 
pears as  two  large  islands  or  continents,  with  two  or 
three  of  the  more  important  islands  of  the  West  Indian 
group.  It  is  one  of  the  first  maps  on  which  the  name 
AMERICA  appears. 

Most  of  the  maps  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth 
century  represent,  as  does  this  one,  a  strait  between 
North  America  and  South  America.  It  was  that  for 
which  search  was  so  frequently  made  in  those  early  years, 
and  which  the  map  makers,  though  clearly  wanting  posi- 
tive information,  were  accustomed  to  represent  on  their 
maps.  It  is  the  representation  of  a  hope  rather  than 
of  a  fact. 

24.— TYPICAL  EARLY  MAPS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

In  this  number  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring 
together,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  nine  typical  early 
maps  of  the  New  World. 

1.  A  Portuguese  map  of  about  1502  which  omits  North 
America,  but  exhibits  the  West  Indian  Islands,  with 
Cuba  extending  quite  as  far  north  as  England,  repre- 
senting an  idea  expressed  by  Columbus. 

2.  The  Cantino  chart  of  1502  which  represents,  for 
example,  North  America,  but  does  not  express  with  cer- 
tainty that  this  continent  is  bordered  by  a  western  ocean. 

3.  The  Ruysch  map  of  1507,  exhibiting  a  peculiar  un- 
certainty concerning  North  America,  making  Greenland 
a  part  of  northeast  Asia  and  omitting  Japan,  because  it 
was  thought  to  be  identical  with  the  newly  discovered 
regions  of  the  Spanish. 

25 


4.  The  Glareanus  map  of  about  1512  makes  North 
America  clearly   appear  as  an  independent  continent, 
separated  from  South  America  and  bordered  on  the  east 
as  well  as  on  the  west  by  the  ocean. 

5.  The  Stobnicza  map  of  1511,  being  an  exact  copy  of 
Waldseemiiller's  map  of  1507  on  which  for  the  first  time 
a  land  connection  between  North  and  South  America 
was  represented. 

6.  The  Maiollo  map  of  1527,  giving  practically  the 
entire  Atlantic  coast  of  the  New  World  and  the  west 
coast   with    the  peculiar   indentation   of   Verrazanian 
origin. 

7.  The  Gastaldi  map  of  1548,  representing  both  the 
idea  of  an  Asiatic  connection  of  the  New  World  and  at 
the  same  time  a  belief  in  its  European  connection  at  the 
north. 

8.  Agnese  chart  of  about  1546,  being  a  typical  early 
Spanish  representation  of  the  New  World  with  its  too 
rapid  trend  to  eastward  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America,  but  with  the  general  coast  features  fairly  well 
done. 

9.  The  rare  Gilbert  map  of    1576,  representing  a 
northwest  passage,  and  North  America  independent  of 
Asia. 

25.— MAP  ATTRIBUTED  TO  EEINEL,  about  1516. 
The  original  of  this  map,  attributed  to  the  cartogra- 
pher Pedro  Reinel,  who  was  one  of  the  most  famous 
map  makers  of  the  early  sixteenth  century,  may  be  found 
in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  of  Paris.  It  embraces  the 
western  parts  of  Europe  and  Africa,  the  central  and 
northern  Atlantic  and  the  mainland  of  the  New  World 

26 


in  three  disconnected  sections:  the  first  designated  as 
"  terra  corte  regalis,"  or  the  region  of  Labrador,  and 
eastern  Canada ;  the  second  as  "  terra  Bimene,"  an  early 
name  for  the  Florida  region;  the  third  as  "mundus 
novus,"  or  the  northeastern  section  of  South  America, 
together  with  a  fourth  section,  the  West  Indian  Islands, 
which  have  no  general  designation.  The  map  is  par- 
ticularly striking  from  an  artistic  standpoint,  being  deco- 
rated with  numerous  banners  representing  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  territorial  ownership,  with  vessels  sailing 
hither  and  thither  over  the  Atlantic,  and  with  numerous 
landscapes  wherein  are  pictured  various  animals  and 
forests.  The  coast  names  are  principally  Portuguese 
and  are  written  in  red  and  black,  while  the  legends  are 
for  the  most  part  in  the  Latin  language.  The  sources 
of  the  map  are  largely  Portuguese,  though  the  author 
has  clearly  indicated  an  acquaintance  with  certain  Span- 
ish records. 

26.— WOKLD  MAP  OF  APIANUS,  1520. 

Apianus,  a  noted  German  cosmographer  and  mathe- 
matician, prepared  the  original  of  this  map  in  1520.  He 
borrowed  his  geographical  records  largely  from  Portu- 
guese sources,  or  from  contemporary  Lusitanio-Ger- 
maniac  map  makers,  notably  from  Waldseemiiller,  whose 
map  of  1507  he  practically  copied.  This  map  of  Apianus 
was  long  considered  to  be  the  first  engraved  map  on 
which  the  name  America  appears,  but  the  discovery, 
twelve  years  since,  of  Waldseemiiller's  great  world  map, 
referred  to  above,  deprived  it  of  this  distinction. 

The  original  is  a  well-executed  woodcut,  29  by  42  cm. 
in  size,  and  represents  both  the  Old  and  the  New  World. 

27 


Spanish  flags  mark  the  discoveries  and  claims  of  that 
country  in  the  west.  A  part  of  the  north  continental 
land  here  represented  is  called  Farias,  but  across  the 
south  continental  area  the  word  AMERICA  is  conspicu- 
ously printed.  Apianus  states  that  this  southern  region 
was  discovered  in  1497,  apparently  recognizing  the  claims 
of  Vespucci,  but  he  immediately  proceeds  to  modify  this 
claim  somewhat  by  stating  that  this  land  with  the  adja- 
cent islands  was  discovered  in  1497  by  Columbus,  a 
Genoese. 

27.— RIBERO  WORLD  MAP,  1529. 

Diego  Eibero  is  reputed  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  cosmographers,  that  is,  geographers,  of 
the  early  sixteenth  century.  His  world  maps  appear  to 
have  been  based  upon  the  official  geographical  records 
collected  by  order  of  the  Spanish  Sovereign  and  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  the  Casa  de  Contratacion.  The 
map  dates  from  1529,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  full- 
ness of  geographical  information  and  the  near  approach 
to  accuracy  of  its  details.  The  original  may  be  found 
in  the  Museum  of  the  Propaganda,  Rome. 

The  map  represents  the  New  World  as  one  land  mass, 
giving  the  entire  Atlantic  coast  line  from  Labrador  to 
the  Strait  of  Magellan,  with  a  section  of  the  Pacific 
coast  from  southern  Mexico  to  Peru.  Certain  con- 
spicuous features  of  early  portolan  charts  are  retained, 
as,  for  example,  the  crossing  lines  and  the  compass  roses. 
The  descriptive  legends  are  numerous,  and  are  of  great 
historical  interest.  We  read,  for  example,  that  there  is 
nothing  worth  obtaining  in  Labrador ;  that  no  gold  can 
be  found  in  the  region  visited  by  Gomez,  that  is,  the 

28 


eastern  United  States  of  the  present,  because  it  is  too 
far  from  the  tropics ;  that  New  Spain,  by  which  Mexico 
is  meant,  is  so  called  because  it  contains  products  to  be 
found  in  Old  Spain;  that  gold  and  silver  can  be  found 
in  the  interior  of  the  La  Plata  region.  The  Old  World 
has  been  well  drawn.  Here  the  names  and  legends  seem 
to  have  been  inserted  with  the  same  attention  to  details 
and  accuracy  that  we  find  in  the  case  of  the  western 
hemisphere.  The  papal  Line  of  Demarcation  is  the  prime 
meridian;  degrees  of  latitude  and  longitude  are  marked; 
trade  routes  are  indicated  by  well-drawn  sailing  vessels. 

28.— MUNICH-PORTUGUESE  MAP,  1519. 

In  the  Royal  Library  of  Munich  may  be  found  this 
Portuguese  map  drawn  on  parchment  and  exquisitely 
colored.  In  size  it  is  63  by  125  cm.  Neither  date  nor 
author's  name  appears  on  the  map,  but  there  is  evidence 
that  it  was  made  about  the  year  1519.  It  is  the  oldest 
map  known  on  which  attention  is  called  to  the  discovery 
of  the  Pacific  by  Balboa,  though  his  name  does  not 
appear.  This  reference  we  find  in  a  legend  in  the  ocean 
to  the  west  of  South  America.  Near  the  western  coast 
line  is  represented  an  exploring  party  in  open  boats. 

Labrador  is  indicated  as  an  isolated  region  to  the 
west  of  Europe,  to  the  southwest  of  which  is  "Terra 
Bimini,"  that  is,  Florida,  likewise  isolated  and  with  an 
indefinite  outline,  as  if  doubt  were  entertained  whether 
to  represent  it  as  an  island  or  a  continental  region.  The 
eastern  coast  line  is  continuous  from  Yucatan  to  the 
La  Plata  River.  The  map  is  one  of  the  oldest  known 
on  which  the  Line  of  Demarcation  is  represented  as  the 
prime  meridian.  For  African  and  East  Indian  discov- 

29 


eries  it  is  one  of  great  value  as  well  as  one  of  importance 
for  its  representation  of  discoveries  in  the  New  World. 
Descriptive  legends  are  numerous.  The  map  is  highly 
ornamented  with  ships,  tents  of  barbarian  kings,  flags, 
mountains,  in  the  draughting  of  which  skill  of  a  high 
order  is  indicated. 

29.— POETUGUESB    MAP    OF    SOUTH    AFEICA 
AND  THE  FAE  EAST,  about  1513. 

This  Portuguese  map,  neither  signed  nor  dated,  has 
been  thought  to  have  been  constructed  as  early  as  1513. 
It  includes  the  coast  region  of  the  Old  World  from  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea  on  the  west  of  Africa  to  southeastern 
Asia,  together  with  the  Moluccas  or  a  portion  of  the  East 
Indian  Islands.  For  the  latter  representation  it  is  a 
map  of  striking  importance.  A  very  significant  feature 
is  the  apparent  indication  of  a  coast  line  on  the  right 
which  has  been  taken  to  be  a  representation  of  the  west 
coast  of  North  America.  If  this  conjecture  is  correct, 
it  is  a  record  of  special  interest,  since  it  will  be  remem- 
bered that  this  coast  is  thought  not  to  have  been  visited 
by  European  explorers  until  a  much  later  date.  It  may 
be  the  record  of  an  expedition  concerning  which  we  have 
no  other  information. 

30.— GLOBE  OF  JOHANN  SCHONEE,  1520. 

In  the  German  National  Museum  of  Ntirnberg  may  be 
found  this  mounted  wooden  globe,  the  work  of  Johann 
Schoner,  a  noted  cosmographer  and  mathematician.  It 
bears  date  1520  and  has  a  diameter  of  35.5  cm.  Schoner 
is  known  to  have  drawn  several  globe  maps,  the  first 

30 


in  1515.  The  work  here  represented  is,  however,  his 
hest  that  has  been  preserved.  His  geographical  in- 
formation was  received  from  German  and  Portuguese 
sources,  and  he  gives  us  practically  the  same  representa- 
tion on  a  globe  that  Waldseemiiller  gives  in  a  plane  map. 
The  continents  of  both  North  and  South  America  he 
represents  as  large  islands,  the  former  curiously  bearing 
the  name  "Terra  de  Cuba,"  and  the  latter  "America 
vel  Brasilia  sive  Papagalli  Terra,"  that  is,  America  or 
Brazil  or  the  Land  of  Parrots.  Japan  is  in  close  proxim- 
ity to  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  and  Newfound- 
land or  "  Terra  Corte  Eealis  "  is  a  large  island  to  the 
northeast.  In  the  south,  beyond  South  America,  is  rep- 
resented a  large  land  area  designated  as  "Brasilia  In- 
ferior." It  is  especially  interesting  here  to  note  that  a 
strait  separates  this  land  from  his  "  America,"  as  a  strait 
separates  North  from  South  America,  and  that  this 
representation  dates  from  1520.  Schoner  had  indeed 
indicated  this  strait,  which  is  now  called  the  Straifc  of 
Magellan,  on  his  globe  map  of  1515. 

31.— WORLD   MAP   OF   SEBASTIAN  MUNSTER, 
1540. 

In  the  Basel  edition  of  Ptolemy's  Geography,  printed 
in  1540,  is  a  world  map  by  Sebastian  Minister.  This' 
map  gives  evidence  of  a  decline  among  the  Germans  of 
that  cartographical  skill  which  they  had  exhibited  in 
the  earlier  years  of  the  century.  Certain  Ptolemaic 
features  are  retained  in  the  map,  but  the  New  World  is 
given  due  prominence.  That  indentation  on  the  west 
coast  of  North  America  is  exhibited,  which  peculiarity 

31 


had  its  origin  in  the  report  of  Verrazano  and  whicK 
appears  so  prominent  in  the  Verrazano  map  of  1529, 
though  it  had  earlier  been  represented  by  Maiollo  in  his 
map  of  1527.  For  the  first  time  in  a  map  of  the  New 
World,  Miinster  indicates  a  passage  or  strait  between 
"Bacalhos"  in  the  north,  by  which  name  Greenland 
seems  to  be  meant,  and  "  Francisca  "  on  the  south,  which 
is  a  name  for  the  Canadian  region,  through  which  strait 
one  might  pass  to  the  Moluccas.  Though  marking  such 
a  passage  on  his  map,  it  actually  was  first  traversed  by 
Amundsen  in  1905.  North  America  is  called  "Terra 
Florida,"  though  its  western  part,  represented  on  the 
map  as  lying  to  the  east  of  Asia,  is  called  "  Temistitan," 
which  is  an  early  name  for  Mexico. 

32.—WORLD    MAP    OF   MARTINES    IN    HEMI- 
SPHERES, 1562. 

The  first  of  the  charts  in  a  portolan  atlas  dated  1562 
by  Giovanni  Martines  is  a  representation  of  the  world 
in  two  hemispheres.  Martines  was  one  of  the  foremost 
Italian  chart  makers  of  his  day,  being  not  only  a  skillful 
draughtsman,  but  also  a  careful  and  critical  student  in 
the  field  of  chart  making.  Each  of  the  hemispheres  in 
the  original  has  a  diameter  of  about  16  cm.,  or  nearly  four 
inches.  These  hemispheres  are  therefore  somewhat  en- 
larged in  this  reproduction.  Meridians  and  parallels 
are  drawn  at  intervals  of  fifteen  degrees.  In  his  general 
continental  outlines  his  representations  are  fairly  accu- 
rate, but  a  striking  feature  is  his  great  Austral  Con- 
tinent which  he  calls  "terra  incognito."  No  earlier 
chart  is  known  on  which  there  is  a  reference  to  Anian, 
a  name  once  applied  to  the  Bering's  Strait.  Geograph- 

32 


ical  names  are  not  numerous,  and  those  given  are  of 
local  territorial  areas. 

33.— WORLD  MAP  OF  AGNESE,  about  1545. 

Batista  Agnese  was  one  of  the  most  prolific  portolan 
chart  and  atlas  makers  of  the  sixteenth  century.  As  a 
draughtsman  and  miniaturist  he  exhibited  remarkable 
skill,  holding  a  foremost  place,  in  particular,  among  his 
Italian  contemporaries.  His  work,  however,  appears  to 
have  been  done  rather  for  the  libraries  of  princes  than  for 
the  practical  use  of  mariners.  This  world  map,  selected 
from  the  best  known  copy  of  his  atlases,  is  typical.  The 
continents  are  well  drawn,  but  the  general  effect  is 
artistic  rather  than  scientific.  A  very  common  feature 
of  his  world  maps  is  the  representation  of  the  course  fol- 
lowed by  the  Magellan  expedition,  which  was  the  first 
to  circumnavigate  the  globe. 

34.— DESCELIERS  WORLD  MAP,  1550. 

This  map  is  representative  of  the  best  work  done  by 
French  cartographers  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  original,  belonging  to  the  British  Museum, 
is  215  by  135  cm.  in  size,  and  is  remarkable  for  its 
artistic  and  scientific  merit.  The  author  expresses  a 
disbelief  in  an  Asiatic  connection  of  America;  a  belief 
in  such  connection,  it  may  be  said,  being  generally  en- 
tertained at  that  time.  It  is  rich  in  nomenclature  which 
is  of  particular  interest  for  the  region  of  French  discov- 
eries in  the  New  World. 

The  sources  for  the  map  appear  to  be  largely  French, 
and  only  in  part  Spanish  or  Portuguese.  The  Atlantic 
coast  line  of  North  America  is  a  decided  improvement 

33 


on  that  coast  as  represented  in  earlier  maps.  While  the 
decorations  of  the  map  are  somewhat  profuse,  they  are, 
however,  in  keeping  with  the  best  artistic  work  of  con- 
temporaneous cartographers. 

35.— CABOT  WORLD  MAP,  1544. 

In  one  of  the  inscriptions  on  this  map  we  read  that 
it  was  drawn  by  "  Sebastian  Cabot,  captain  and  Pilot 
Major  of  his  Sacred  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor 
Don  Carlos,  the  fifth  of  this  name,  in  the  year  1544." 
Though  the  map  is  referred  to  as  the  work  of  Cabot 
there  is  considerable  uncertainty  as  to  the  part  he  took 
in  its  construction.  The  original  is  220  by  120  cm.  in 
size,  including  the  two  columns  of  inscriptions.  At  this 
time  Cabot  was  in  the  employ  of  Spain,  but  it  seems 
probable  that  the  map  was  engraved  in  the  Netherlands. 
It  appears  to  represent  the  coast  of  the  New  World  to 
that  most  northern  point  reached  by  Cabot  in  1498,  the 
entrance  to  Davis's  Strait,  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  as 
surveyed  by  Cartier  in  1534,  and  the  Gulf  and  River  St. 
Lawrence.  The  entire  Atlantic  coast  is  well  drawn,  but 
the  west  coast  of  North  America  extends  only  to  that 
point  reached  by  Castilo  in  1541,  whose  map  of  the  re- 
gion seems  to  have  been  incorporated  in  the  Cabot  map. 
There  are  many  errors  in  details,  but  in  the  general  geo- 
graphical outline  the  work  has  been  well  done  for  the 
period.  It  is  from  one  of  the  inscriptions,  No.  8,  that 
we  learn  Newfoundland  was  discovered  by  John  Cabot 
and  Sebastian,  his  son,  June  24,  1497,  here,  however, 
erroneously  written  1494.  The  projection  is  that  which, 
for  example,  we  find  in  the  Ortelius  map,  No.  37.  The 
map  is  adorned  with  an  artistic  picture  of  the  Annuncia- 

34 


tion  and  the  Imperial  coat-of-arms  and  with  four  wind 
heads,  as  in  certain  earlier  maps. 

36.—WOELD  MAP  OF  FORLANI,  1565. 

This  map  of  the  Italian  Forlani  of  1565  is  a  good 
example  of  the  excellent  work  in  copper  engraving  done 
in  Italy  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Though  the  Italian  map  makers  established  for  them- 
selves an  enviable  reputation  in  the  fourteenth  and  fif- 
teenth centuries  and  found  employment  in  Spain  and 
Portugal  in  the  opening  years  of  their  great  trans-oceanic 
discoveries  and  explorations,  they  were  slow  in  giving 
fitting  prominence  to  these  discoveries  in  their  carto- 
graphical work  done  at  home ;  that  is,  they  were  much  in- 
clined to  hold  to  tradition.  As  artistic  draughtsmen  they 
always  exhibited  great  skill.  In  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  when  copper  engraving  was  coming 
into  favor,  they  applied  most  successfully  the  new  art 
to  map  work.  Forlani's  work,  it  will  be  noted,  retains 
the  artistic  and  fanciful  wind  heads.  The  form  of  his 
map  gives  rise  to  certain  distortions.  In  outline  his 
New  World  is  of  Portuguese  origin. 

37.— OKTELIUS  WORLD  MAP,  1564. 

Abraham  Ortelius,  a  distinguished  geographer  and 
mathematician  of  the  Netherlands,  issued  in  1564  this 
world  map,  150  by  87  cm.  in  size,  which  in  its  projection 
shows  strikingly  the  influence  of  Waldseemiiller's  great 
map  of  1507.  The  only  known  copy  of  the  map  may  be 
found  in  the  University  Library  of  Basel,  Switzerland. 
It  is  a  carefully  prepared  piece  of  work,  though  exhibit- 
ing numerous  errors  in  its  details,  and  many  distortions 

35 


by  reason  of  its  projection.    This  is  the  only  reproduc- 
tion of  the  map  which  has  ever  been  made. 

38.— ORTELIUS  WORLD  MAP,  1570. 

Ortelius  is  especially  known  through  his  great  work 
issued  at  Antwerp  in  the  year  1570,  which  work  is  com- 
monly referred  to  as  the  first  modern  atlas.  It  contains 
fifty-three  maps  with  accompanying  text,  most  of  which 
maps  were  reproductions,  more  or  less  modified,  of  the 
work  of  other  cartographers.  Perhaps  one  of  the  great- 
est services  rendered  by  Ortelius  was  his  part  in  the 
elimination  from  world  maps  of  many  of  the  lingering 
Ptolemaic  and  mediaeval  traditions. 

His  world  map,  here  reproduced,  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  those  he  placed  in  his  atlas.  Certain 
distortions  are  noticeable,  occasioned  by  his  peculiar, 
though  not  hitherto  unknown  projection,  and  numerous 
errors  appear  in  those  regions  which  were  little  known. 
North  America  has  a  breadth  entirely  too  great.  South 
America  has  an  unaccountable  extension  on  the  south- 
west, which  peculiarity  was  long  retained  in  the  Mer- 
cator  and  the  Ortelius  maps.  His  "  terra  Australis  "  is 
a  most  conspicuous  feature,  quite  equaling  in  extent  the 
area  of  the  known  continents.  In  the  extreme  north  he 
likewise  has  indicated  extensive  land  areas.  It  may  be 
noted  that  he  gives  the  name  America  only  to  North 
America,  and  that  he  has  no  general  name  for  South 
America. 

39.— MERCATOR  WORLD  MAP,  1569. 

The  Flemish  mathematician  and  geographer  Ger- 
hardus  Mercator  has  a  place  of  foremost  rank  among 

36 


those    who   have   made    contribution    to   geographical 
science. 

In  1569  his  great  world  map,  here  reproduced,  was 
drawn  on  what  has  since  come  to  be  known  as  the  "  Mer- 
cator  Projection."  In  this  the  parallels  and  meridians 
intersect  at  right  angles.  For  regions  near  the  equator 
the  representation  is  very  nearly  accurate,  but  the  ex- 
aggeration in  latitude  increases  toward  the  poles,  where 
it  is  at  infinity.  This  great  planisphere,  according  to 
its  title,  was  intended  for  the  use  of  navigators,  its 
peculiar  construction  admirably  fitting  it  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  great  distortion  especially  noticeable  in  North 
America  is  due  to  the  application  of  his  scientific  prin- 
ciple. Mercator's  work  is  most  interesting  and  accurate 
for  the  Old  World,  particularly  Europe.  He  has  re- 
tained in  his  map  some  of  the  old  traditions,  notably 
the  fabulous  islands  in  the  Atlantic;  he  followed  the 
Zeno  map  for  Greenland  and  the  neighboring  regions, 
recording  many  of  the  fictitious  names  to  be  found  in 
that  map.  Mercator's  influence  was  far  reaching,  not 
only  through  this  particular  masterpiece,  but  through 
the  numerous  editions  of  his  atlas. 

40.  — WORLD     MAP     OF     BLAEU     IN     HEMI- 
SPHERES, 1605. 

This  great  world  map  of  Willem  Janz  Blaeu  is  a  re- 
production from  the  unique  copy  now  to  be  found  in  the 
rich  cartographical  collection  of  The  Hispanic  Society 
of  America.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  draughted  in  the 
year  1605  by  order  of  the  Estates  General  of  Amsterdam. 
Each  hemisphere  in  the  original  is  120  cm.  in  diameter. 
It  is  therefore  one  of  the  largest  as  it  is  one  of  the  most 

37 


detailed  engraved  maps  of  the  period.  Blaeu  became 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  map  and  globe  makers 
of  the  Netherlands,  a  country  which  in  the  late  sixteenth 
and  early  seventeenth  centuries  could  well  boast  of 
leadership  in  this  field. 

Blaeu's  map  presents,  with  a  remarkable  approach  to 
accuracy,  the  outlines  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World. 
He  has  adorned  it  with  pictures,  but  not  of  the  fanciful 
type  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  the  mediaeval  map 
makers.  He  has  dotted  the  seas  with  exquisitely  drawn 
ships  and  compass  roses.  He  represents  a  great  Austral 
Continent  at  the  south,  which  he  calls  "  Magalanica." 
Near  the  Strait  of  Magellan  he  has  placed  excellent  por- 
traits of  the  four  explorers  who  to  that  date  had  cir- 
cumnavigated the  globe.  There  are  curious  but  not  un- 
natural errors  in  the  region  of  Hudson's  Bay  and  the 
Great  Lakes.  His  map  was  drawn  just  before  Hudson 
undertook  his  expedition  by  the  northeast  route  to  China, 
failing  which  he  turned  to  the  westward  and  explored 
a  part  of  the  coast  of  North  America.  A  comparison 
here  of  the  Blaeu  map  of  1605  with  the  Hondius  map 
of  1611,  No.  49,  in  many  features  so  strikingly  similar, 
is  especially  interesting. 


38 


•u-'    - 


MAPS   FRAMED  AND   HANGING  ON  THE 
WALLS    OF   THE    BUILDING 

41.— WORLD  MAP  OF  LEARDO,  1452. 

This  original  parchment  map,  one  of  the  finest  prod- 
ucts of  the  skillful  Italian  map  maker  Leardo,  represents 
the  world  as  it  was  known  about  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  The  west  coast  of  Africa,  where  the 
Portuguese  under  the  leadership  of  Prince  Henry  were 
actively  engaged  in  exploration  at  this  time,  is  well 
drawn.  Many  of  the  features  of  mediaeval  maps  have, 
however,  been  retained,  as  the  representation  of  im- 
portant cities  by  the  picture  of  a  building,  the  Red  Sea 
with  its  traditional  color,  the  world  as  encircled  by  the 
ocean.  The  unknown  region  of  South  Africa  is  made 
somewhat  conspicuous,  as  if  to  center  attention  in  that 
direction.  Leardo's  map  is  oriented  with  the  east  at 
the  top,  which  therefore  places  the  south  at  the  right. 
The  author  has  surrounded  his  map  with  a  broad  cir- 
cular band,  in  which  he  has  inscribed  elaborate  astro- 
nomical tables,  a  feature  which  is  not  common  to  world 
maps  of  the  period. 

42.— MARINE    WORLD    CHART    OF    CANERIO, 

about  1502. 

The  parchment  original  of  this  chart,  225  by  115  cm. 
in  size,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Archive  du  Service  Hydro- 

39 


graphique  de  la  Marine,  Paris.  Canerio  calls  himself  a 
Genoese.  In  the  lower  corner  on  the  left  of  his  map 
appears  his  signature,  "  Opus  Nicolay  de  Canerio 
Januensis."  Very  little  is  known  of  the  author.  It  is 
probable  that  he  was  one  of  a  number  of  Italians  who 
found  employment  as  map  makers  in  Portugal  or  in 
Spain  in  the  early  years  of  great  trans-oceanic  discov- 
eries. We  find  in  this  work,  as  in  the  Cantino,  No.  19, 
an  excellent  example  of  the  earlier  portolan  chart,  No. 
9,  so  enlarged  as  to  become  a  world  chart. 

Only  the  eastern  coast  line  of  a  part  of  the  New  World 
appears,  with  a  few  of  the  West  Indian  Islands.  Africa 
and  the  Far  East,  regions  likewise  of  new  discoveries  and 
explorations,  are  remarkably  well  drawn.  The  chart  is 
one  of  the  oldest  known  on  which  wind  or  compass  roses 
appear,  being  here  grouped  in  a  system. 

43.— WORLD  MAP  OF  WALDSEEMULLER,  1507. 

In  1507  Martin  Waldseemiiller  issued  a  little  volume 
which  he  called  COSMOGRAPHY  INTRODUCTIO.  It  was 
in  this  volume  that  the  name  AMERICA,  as  applied  to  a 
part  of  the  New  World,  first  appears  in  print.  "  Inas- 
much as  both  Europe  and  Asia  received  their  names  from 
women,  I  see  no  reason  why  any  one  should  justly  object 
to  calling  this  part  Amerige,  i.  e.,  the  land  of  Amerigo, 
or  America,  after  Amerigo,  its  discoverer,  a  man  of  great 
ability/'  says  the  author  in  referring  to  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Vespucci. 

In  the  same  year,  1507,  Waldseemiiller  issued  this 
world  map,  the  largest  engraved  map  then  known,  and 
the  first  containing  the  name  AMERICA.  Though  inac- 
curate in  many  of  its  details,  it  is  remarkable  for  the 

40 


geographical  knowledge  which  it  records  within  fifteen 
years  after  the  first  trans-Atlantic  voyage  of  Columbus. 
Only  one  of  the  original  copies  of  the  map  is  now  known, 
this  being  discovered  twelve  years  since  by  Professor 
Joseph  Fischer,  S.  J.,  in  the  library  of  Prince  Wald- 
burg  of  Wolfegg,  Germany.  This  facsimile  is  one  of  a 
number  issued  by  Professors  von  Wieser  and  Fischer 
in  size  of  the  original. 

44.— WORLD     CHART    OF    WALDSEEMULLER, 

1516. 

The  original  of  this  chart  was  found  by  Professor 
Fischer  in  the  same  volume  which  contained  the  pre- 
viously mentioned  map  of  Waldseemuller,  No.  43.  It 
appears  to  be  an  engraved  copy  of  Canerio's  chart,  No. 
42,  somewhat  altered  by  the  insertion  chiefly  of  numer- 
ous ornamental  details.  Certain  parts  of  the  work  of 
engraving  have  been  attributed  to  Albrecht  Diirer.  It 
is  in  a  legend  on  this  chart  Waldseemuller  records 
that  he  had  produced  his  map  of  1507  in  one  thousand 
copies,  only  a  single  example  of  which  is  now  known. 

45.— WORLD  MAP  OF  MAIOLLO,  1527. 

In  the  Biblioteca  Ambrosiana  of  Milan  may  be  found 
the  original  of  this  fine  example  of  early  map  making. 
It  is  175  by  60  cm.  in  size,  and  bears  the  author's  in- 
scription which  gives  us  the  specific  information  that 
he  draughted  it  in  Genoa,  December  xxii,  1527.  It  pos- 
sesses many  striking  and  interesting  features.  In  the 
central  American  region  we  find  a  strait  represented, 
but  of  its  real  existence  the  author  was  not  quite  cer- 

41 


tain,  seeing  that  he  refers  to  it  as  "  streito  dubitoso." 
It  is  the  representation  of  a  natural  waterway  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  in  that  day  sought  for  by  ex- 
plorers, but  a  dream  to  find  its  realization  in  the  arti- 
ficial passageway  soon  to  be  opened. 

The  sweep  of  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  ap- 
proaching the  Atlantic  coast  in  the  region  of  Chesapeake 
Bay,  resembles  the  Verrazano  map  of  1529,  which  indi- 
cates a  peculiar  misconception  as  to  the  distance  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  inland  or  western  sea,  often  on  later 
maps  referred  to  as  the  Sea  of  Verrazano. 

46.— WORLD  MAP  OF  VERRAZANO,  1529. 

In  the  museum  of  the  College  of  the  Propaganda, 
Rome,  is  preserved  the  original  of  this  large  world  map, 
which  is  260  by  130  cm.  in  size,  and  which,  as  an  in- 
scription tells  us,  was  made  by  "  Hieronemus  de  Verra- 
zano," the  brother  of  the  great  explorer.  In  its  outlines 
of  the  New  World  it  clearly  resembles  the  map  of 
Maiollo,  No.  45.  Numerous  regional  names  appear,  as 
"Terra  Laboratoris,"  "Terra  Florida,"  "Hispania," 
"  Terra  America  " ;  landscapes  are  represented,  and  the 
Old  World  continents,  in  particular  Europe  and  Africa, 
have  been  represented  with  a  remarkable  approach  to 
accuracy.  The  names  inscribed  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  the  New  World  are  of  great  historical  interest.  Here 
is  recorded  the  information  brought  back  to  France  by 
Giovanni  Verrazano,  who  had  explored  this  region  in 
1524  for  King  Francis  I,  at  which  time  he  had  visited 
and  roughly  charted,  among  other  localities,  that  of 
New  York  Bay. 

42 


47.— WOELD  MAP  OF  MEECATOE,  1538. 

Of  this  world  map,  representing  the  earliest  work  of 
Mercator,  but  two  of  the  original  copies  are  known ;  the 
one  here  referred  to  belonging  to  The  American  Geo- 
graphical Society,  the  other  being  in  the  possession  of 
the  New  York  Public  Library.  The  peculiar  heart  shape 
is  but  one  of  the  many  designs  worked  out  by  the  car- 
tographers of  the  period  in  their  search  for  the  most 
effective  plan  for  representing  the  world  on  a  plane  sur- 
face. The  map  records  in  a  fairly  accurate  and  general 
manner  the  geographical  knowledge  respecting  the  world 
as  known  at  the  time  it  was  engraved.  For  the  first 
time  on  a  map  the  name  AMERICA  is  here  given  to  both 
the  northern  and  the  southern  continent  of  the  New 
World,  that  is,  to  North  and  to  South  America,  a  name 
which  Waldseenxiiller,  No.  43,  gave  only  to  a  section  of 
South  America.  A  comparison  of  Mercator's  map  of 
1538  with  his  map  of  1569,  No.  39,  will  not  be  without 
interest. 

48.— WOELD  MAP  OF  SEBASTIAN  CABOT,  1544. 

See  No.  35  for  a  description  of  the  Sebastian  Cabot 
Map,  which  is  here  reproduced  in  size  of  the  original. 

49.— WOELD  MAP  OF  HONDIUS,  1611. 

The  only  known  original  copy  of  this  map  was  found 
in  1901  in  Wolfegg  Castle  by  Professor  Joseph  Fischer. 
Hondius  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  cartographers 
of  his  day,  and  in  this  world  map  we  have  perhaps  the 
finest  illustration  of  his  knowledge  and  skill. 

At  the  extremity  of  South  America  appear  the  por- 

43 


traits  of  the  four  men  who,  prior  to  the  engraving  of  his 
map,  had  circumnavigated  the  globe.  An  interesting 
record,  inscribed  northeast  of  Europe,  tells  us  that  Hud- 
son reached  this  point,  but  was  blocked  by  the  ice.  This 
is  the  first  map  record  of  the  failure  of  Hudson  in  that 
region,  the  result  of  which  failure  led  him  to  turn  his 
attention  to  a  western  expedition  and  to  the  discovery 
of  the  Hudson  River.  The  map  is  one  of  the  first  to 
represent  the  currents  of  the  ocean  and  the  trade  winds, 
with  an  indication  of  the  direction  of  the  same.  In 
explanation  of  his  ornamental  border,  which  is  an  at- 
tractive feature,  Hondius  tells  us  that  "  for  adornment 
and  for  entertainment "  he  has  here  represented  the  vari- 
ous animals  which  are  useful  to  man. 


WOELD  MAP  OF  COSMAS.    No.  2. 


44 


UCLA  MAP  LIBRARY 

REFERENCE 
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